“We depend heavily on fish, so I’m really not sure what we would do [if fishery resources declined]. The supply from the store is so expensive”, a resident of Kiritimati island told me in 2013, when I asked him what he would do if, in the future, he wasn’t able to catch as many fish as he does today. Kiritimati, an island of the Republic of Kiribati, is the largest atoll in the world by land area, lying just over 200km north of the equator. Over 5,500 people live on Kiritimati (according to the 2010 census), relying on subsistence fishing to support much of their livelihoods. The people of Kiribati (the I-Kiribati) have among the highest seafood consumption per capita in the world. The future of this island community is therefore inextricably linked to that of the coral reef ecosystem that surrounds it. This atoll is the site of our research expedition this March.

A satellite photo of Kiritimati.

This trip to Kiritimati will be my third time returning to this island in the middle of the Pacific ocean. As an undergraduate student, I assisted on two previous research expeditions, first as shore support for the dive team in 2012, and then returning as a member of the dive team in 2013. This year we will be diving on the reef around Kiritimati to examine the effects of El Niño temperature changes on the corals (See Danielle’s blogpost on corals!), and I am preparing myself to see dramatic changes to the reef. This year’s El Niño is the strongest on record, and reports from the island tell of widespread coral bleaching due to increased sea temperatures.

Surveying corals on Kiritimati in 2013. Soaring sea temperatures during this year’s El Niño mean that these beautiful corals will likely look very different from what I remember.

While we prepare to survey the reef to understand the impact of this climate event on the coral colonies, I also wonder about the community and people on this isolated atoll who rely on the resources that are produced and supported by the reef, of which coral is the foundation. How will these changes impact their livelihoods and food security, and will they be able to adapt to the changes?

Conducting household surveys with residents of Kiritimati in 2013 to gain understanding of reliance on fishing among this island community.

On our trip in 2013, we conducted surveys of the residents of the atoll, visiting over one hundred households to gain an understanding of peoples’ fishing activity, their dependence on reef fishery resources, and their perceptions of changes in these resources. High dependence on local fishery was evident in peoples responses; fish was a key part of the daily diet in all the households we surveyed, and 95% of respondents were actively engaged in fishing activities every week, fishing primarily for subsistence purposes. Over a third of our respondents also relied on fishing as a primary source or as one of multiple sources of income. This dependence on fishing highlights vulnerability to changes in their natural resources.

Our paper on the results of these surveys was recently published. Read it here, or watch this audio slideshow I put together summarizing our findings.

Our trip to Kiritimati this March will increase our understanding of the impacts of temperature changes to corals and the reef ecosystems they support. This information may help to make predictions on how reef-dependent communities such as Kiritimati will be affected by these changes.